The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for use in a semiconductor manufacturing environment and, more particularly, to a system and method for scheduling production equipment jobs in such a manufacturing environment.
The mass production of semiconductor devices utilizes different equipment for different processes. Semiconductor devices are often created by processing batches of product wafers, with each product wafer in a batch being processed with the other wafers. In other processes, a wafer may be processed by itself or with only a portion of a batch.
The production equipment and processes used for manufacturing a particular semiconductor device may vary depending on the device and/or device characteristics desired. For example, one semiconductor device may undergo a processing step using one type of fluid, while another device may be processed in a similar manner but with a different type of fluid. Each device may undergo a series of processes performed by different equipment.
The amount of equipment, along with the different functionality and possible combinations of chemicals and processes used with the equipment, increases the complexity of monitoring and maintaining the equipment. For example, a manufacturing environment may rely heavily on monitor wafers to test the current capability of a process and help to determine if there may be a problem with the process or the equipment. However, the scheduling of monitor wafers between product wafers may interrupt the general flow of product wafers into a process. In addition, the scheduling of any maintenance action associated with a piece of manufacturing equipment may interrupt the manufacturing process, resulting in wasted time, wasted resources, etc. Another issue is the lack of flexibility in scheduling the processing of product wafers.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a system and method that addresses the above discussed issues.